Circuit interrupter



1. N. MAHONEY.4 CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER. APPLICATION FILED 950.8. 19H.

1,431,970. Patented 0G13. 17, 1922.

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/6 /5 J I, ger'fjgegx' 5 i E j /4 'I I' 4( ATTORNEY J. N, MAHONEY.CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER. APPLICATION FILED DEC.8. |917. 1,431,97'0l vPatented Oct 17, 1922.

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WITNESSES: INVENTOR Patented let. 17, 1922.

iUNITED STATES 1,431,970 PATENT OFFICE.

,JOSEPH N. MAHONEY, OF WILKINSBURG. PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTING-HOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA.

CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER.

Application filed December 8, 1917.

To (1J/ fw hom t may con cem:

Be it known that l, Josuiri N. `i\f'l.,f\ii(u\'inf, a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of 1V ilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented. a new and usefulImprovement in Circuit Interruptei's, of' which the 'following is aspecilica-tion.

My invention relates to circuit interrup ters and particularly o circuitiutcrrupters of the quicl-acti1ig type.

One object of my invention is to provide a circuit interrupter thatshallV require a minimum movement olE its opera 'ing nism to completelyopen the s accelerating spring exert its` ina, tiveness at the instantct sopar u oi the contact members and require a minimum time intervalbetween the enerlc' ion`V et its tripping electromagnet and tbvbnclrling or upsetting o'l its toggle ineclimnism.

Another object of my'invention is to provide an interrupter of the aboveindi ed character 'that shall have contar* ine-,inl f of such shape thatany are, which may be drawn when the circuit 'is interrupted, shall beextinguished within a minimum interval of time.

A further object of my invention is to provide a circuit interrupter ofthe above indicated character that shall be simple and inexpensive toconstruct and effective in its operation.

In practicing my invention, I provide two stationary main contactmembers, two stationary arcing contact members of substantially hornshape, a slidable rod having bridging contact members at the upper endthereoiiand a toggle mechanism connected between the lower end of therod and a sta* tionaiy member'. A tripping electromagnet is provided foractuating a member that is adapted to limit the oversetting oi? thetoggle mechanism and to directly moye suoli mechanism over itsdead-center position to trip the interruptor within a minimum period ottime. A spring;r serves to move the rod downwardly and is adapted toexert its maximum accelerating force at the instant the toggle is moved.over its dead-center position. A removable handle is provided forsetting or closing the interrupter and a magnetic blow-out coil may beprovided for extinguishing any arcs that may be drawn when theinterrupter is trlpped.

Serial No. 206,131.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a front elevational view of acircuit inter* rupter embodying my invention, and F ig. 2 is a sideelevational view of a portion of the circuit interrupter shown in Fig.1.

`A circuit interrupter 1 connected in series with the conductors 2 oi anelectric .circuit and is adapted to quickly operate under predeterminedoverload conditions in the circuit.

The circuit interrupter 1 comprises, in general, a supporting member oriframe 3, stationary main contact members 4t, auxiliary stationaryarcing contact members 5i, a slidable rod 6 having a main bridgingContact member 7 and an auxiliary bridging contact member 8 mounted atthe upper end thereofV and a toggle mechanism 9 disposed between thelower end ot the rod 6 and a stationary pin 10. An electromagnet 11 isadapted to be energized, through a condenser 12, from the circuit te beprotected, under predetermined conditions, for the purpose of directlyupsetting the toggle mechanism to thereby trip the interruptor 1. Aremovable operating handle 13 is provided 'for actuating or setting thetoggle mechanism 9 to close the interrupter.

The stationary main contact members 4 arc preferably of the spring-leafconstruction to permit effective engagement with the bridging contactmember 7 when the toggle mechanism 9 is slightly overset. The auxiliarycontact members 5 are of substantially horn shape to permit the arc,that is drawn when the interrupter is opened, to be extinguished. Theouter surfaces 1/1 of thc members 5 are formed of relativelyhigh-resistance conducting material, and barrier members 15 are disposedin fan-wise relation between the members to break the arc into a numberof component parts. The members 15 are formed of relativelyhigh-resistance material, vsuch as carborundum, in order to effectivelyextinguish the arc. A magnetic blowout coil 16 is connected in circuitwith conductors 2 and is adapted to co-operate with an arc chute (notshown) and pole pieces 16a. to so'deect the arc between the members 5 asto effectively extinguish the same.

The rod 6 is guided by bearing members 17 and is provided with aninsulating member 18 to effectively insulate its up er portion 19 fromits lower portion 20. E spring Cfr

